Security systems offer a degree of security for residential sites and for office, business, or industrial applications. Typically, a security device monitoring or controlling a zone is provided as part of a security system. For example, an alarm may be set, which is triggered upon the occurrence of various threat or alarm conditions. At a larger installation, such as in a business, industrial or office setting, more than one zone and security device may be provided at various locations of the site. The security devices are typically connected (via hardwired or wireless connections) to a security control panel, which is essentially a control board or control module for security for the site. Also, a remote central monitoring station may be connected, and this central station may be notified when fault, a threat condition, or some other type of security breach, a fire condition, or other type of emergency condition or the like is detected.
As known, the control module or device coordinates the functioning of the units or modules implementing the security and may comprise an integrated circuit, such as a chip to execute software modules for the functioning of a keypad, for example. Control modules may be configured as hardware, software, firmware, or some combination of the foregoing. In several hardwired systems, it is advantageous that the control panel communicates with a peripheral device (e.g., a security or sensor device) over wired or wireless bus systems, such as RS485, or a device that can be plugged directly onto the control panel and governed by a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). As known, the SPI protocol enables synchronous serial communication of a host processor (control panel) and peripherals.
Currently, there is a need to store configuration data from a panel to a remote site or device, as well as being able to restore a configuration to a panel. This is typically done when upgrading the software on the panel, which had been typically performed by replacing the memory chip that held the control program. The configuration data is stored, the memory chip changed, then the configuration information restored. In one prior art embodiment, depicted in FIG. 1A, configuration information can be retrieved from a panel 12 and stored using a PC (personal computer) application 15. Basically, the PC knows about the differences in data between different versions of the alarm panel software and can send any stored configuration information to the panel in the specific format.
One problem with this method is that if the format of the data changes between software versions, the software on the RS232 module may have to be updated as well as the software on the PC. The configuration file would also have to be modified to allow the upgraded software to understand it. Occasionally, some of the required configuration data format changes are not carried out—thus leading to incompatibility between the panel and the RS232 module 18 when used as a temporary storage device for panel configuration data as shown in FIG. 1B. Currently, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1B, the RS232 module knows the structure of the data and can mimic the PC and retrieve and store the configuration information. That is, the RS232 module can be told about the differences in data between different versions of the alarm panel software and can send any stored configuration information to the panel in the specific format.
However, it is the case that when the panel data is reloaded from the RS232 module, not all the configuration data is restorable.
In the next generation security control panels, the type of memory device that stored the program and configuration are changed to the extent that the chip is no longer replaceable. Consequently, a new way has to be devised in order to upgrade the program implemented at the panel.
It would be desirable therefore, to provide an efficient system and method for saving and restoring panel configuration data when making new panel software updates.